Senior, Justine Fourman has her game face on waiting for a serve during last week's pool play tournament.
The Saratoga High School (SHS) Lady Panthers varsity squad did well on the road but struggled at home last week.
They earned a hard won victory in Ethete versus 2A division Wyoming Indian High School (WIH), but failed to secure wins against Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow Junior/Senior High School (HEM) or Encampment K-12 School.
On Thursday, the Lady Panthers had an intense back and forth match against the WIH Lady Chiefs and won in five sets. The teams traded the first four sets with the Lady Panthers winning the 2nd and 4th, 25-16 and 25-22 respectively. The Lady Chiefs won their two sets 25-19 and 25-15. The Lady Panthers came on strong in the fifth set taking it 15-3 for the match win.
At home, the Lady Panthers varsity squad worked hard and made some strong plays, but the effort was not enough to outmatch the division 1A Encampment Lady Tigers or the 2A HEM Lady Miners.
Again, the Lady Panthers played a hard-fought, back -and-fourth match with the Lady Miners ultimately losing in the fifth set. The Lady Tigers played more consistently against the SHS varsity squad taking the game in four sets.
The junior varsity Lady Panthers won their only match of the week in two sets against the Lady Tigers.
SHS Varsity Coach Shaley Love said she was proud of her team, even with the two losses. She said the team is "working hard and just getting after it."
Love is still trying to find her main players and had played her entire bench on Friday. Three of the girls played several positions. "I'm just trying to find that mix that's going to be the best and who's strongest at what positions," Love said, adding, "These girls are great, and they're really fun to work with. They are playing as a team and that's what my main goal was, to get my team together."
When asked about the best things she saw in her team this weekend, Love made note of serving, communication and the defense.
Love said compared to the past, serving was huge in the first games. She has a team goal of getting 100 percent of their serves in play.
Speaking of communication, Love said, "My girls are starting to talk and when you start to talk, you start to move."
Love admits the defense still needs some work, but they are playing as a unit. Love changed the defense up in the last game and said of the team, "Just for them to mentally make that adjustment and put it together to make a competitive game is huge."
Love said she is not looking for her team to be playing at a state championship level just yet, rather, she wants them to peak in November when it is time to go to the state tournament.
SHS hosts the Saratoga Varsity Tourney starting at noon on Friday, Sept. 5 and 8 a.m. Sept. 6.
Reader Comments(0)